Shaping steel bar stock



Nov. 4, 1952 R. c. ZELLER 2,616,314

SHAPING STEEL BAR STOCK Filed Nov. 29, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR. Robe/f C Zel/er Patented Nov. 4, 1952 SHAPING STEEL BAR STOCK Robert C. Zeller, Defiance, Ohio, assignor to The Defiance Automatic Screw Company, Defiance, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 29, 1951, Serial No. 258,924

3 Claims.

This invention relates to shaping steel bar stock, and, more particularly, to a method for simultaneously coining and bending such stock.

Drop forging and similar techniques for forming metal have been used for many years to produce miscellaneous metallic articles. However, known methods for shaping metal stock are disadvantageous in that heating thereof is usually required in at least one step when extensive working is required, and the production of certain shapes attached to a length of the stock requires a complicated and expensive die.

It is the principal object of the invention to provide an improved method for shaping steel bar stock.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for producing an integral brake handle and shaft that includes a simultaneous bending and coining step.

Further objects and advantages are apparent from the description that follows and from the drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 isan elevation showing a length of steel bar stock;

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section showing the bar stock as it is pressed into an upsetting die;

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the shape of the terminal portion of the bar stock after upsetting in the die of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in cross section showing the bar stock as it is pressed into a second and final upsetting die;

Fig. 5 is an elevation showing the shape of the terminal portion of the bar stock after upsetting in the die of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view partially in elevation and partially in cross section of the upset bar stock of Fig. 5 positioned in a schematically represented, partially open press preparatory to simultaneous bending and coining according to the invention;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view along the line 1-1 of Fig. 6 showing the relative positions of the upset bar stock and. the dies of the press of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a. view partially in elevation and partially in cross section of the upset bar stock positioned in the press of Fig. 6 when the latter is in a partially closed position in the course of the simultaneous bending and coining method of the invention;

Fig. 9 shows the upset bar stock positioned in the press of Fig. 6, partially in elevation and partially in cross section, in a second partially I closed position during simultaneous bending and coining of the former;

Fig. 10 is a view partially in elevation and partially in cross section of the upset bar stock positioned in the press of Fig. 6 when the dies of the latter are in registry;

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view along the line ll--ll of Fig. 10 showing the relative positions of the stock and the dies when the latter are in registry;

Fig. 12 is a view in section along the line l2l2 of Fig. 10 further showing the relative position of the stock and the dies when the latter are in registry;

Fig. 13 is a cross sectional view along the line l3l3 of Fig. 6 which shows a method for supporting stock in a press for simultaneous bending and coining according to the invention;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary elevational view of the bent and coined stock after the pressing operation; and

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a finished brake handle formed from the stock of Fig. 14 by urging the end thereof in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 15.

According to the invention a length of steel barstock upset to provide a tapered terminal portion and an integral collar of appreciably larger diameter than the stock is shaped by a simultaneous bending and coining method. The simultaneous bending and coining step is ac complished by resiliently and slidably supporting the stock and a minor part of the collar so that the tapered terminal portion contacts and registers with a generally symmetrical female bending and coining die elongated in the direction of the stock. The stock is initially disposed at an angle of from 15 to 25 degrees with the surface of the female die and a registering male bending and coining die is closed against the female die, coming into contact first with a portion of the integral collar, approximately on a plane of symmetry, and finally into registry with the female die.

According to a further aspect of the invention the bent and coined stock formed as described above is converted to an integral brake handle and shaft by completing a bend approximating degrees around an axis generally through the lower end of the upset stock.

The invention may be more fully understood by reference to the drawings, Figs. 1 through 5 of which show a length of steel bar stock 20, and illustrate the upsetting thereof to provide a'tapered terminal portion 21 and an integral collar 22 having an appreciably larger diameter than the stock 20. The upsetting is accomplished progressively; in the first step the stock is locked in a gripping die 23 (see Fig. 2) and urged in the direction of the arrow into a forming die 24 mounted in a support 25. In this step the terminal portion 2| of the stock is provided with a slight taper, and metal is gathered to form an intermediate integral collar 23. In the second step (see Fig. 4) the partially upset terminal portion of the stock is urged into a second die 21 mounted in a support 28 by means of a second gripping die 29 locked onto the stock 20, and driven in the direction of the arrow. In the second upsetting step both the tapered terminal portion 2! and the collar 26 are foreshortened somewhat to form the upset blank shown in Fig. 5 in which the final collar 22 is fully formed. Upsetting in this manner is conventional.

The simultaneous bending and coining method of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 6 through 13 as carried out in a standard single action press. The press may be of any suitable form and includes a stationary bed 30 rigidly mounted on a supporting frame. A female coining die 3| provided with a slidably mounted stop 32 is attached to the bed 30. The stop 32 is urged to the right by a spring 33. Rigid guides 34 are also mounted on the bed 39, and position a ram 35 which is slidably mounted on the guides. A bolster 35 i interposed between the ram 35 and a male bending and coining die 31 to provide the proper spacing of the male die relative to the female die 3|. The ram 35 is supported and driven in the conventional manner by a connecting rod mounted on a driven crankshaft (not illustrated) A lower blank holding member 33 is attached to the bed 30 by bolts 39. The blank holding member 38 is provided with drilled openings 40 which clear the heads of the bolts 39 and end in shoulders 3| so that the member 38 is vertically slidable between the position shown in Fig. 6 and a position where its lower surface 42 bears upon the bed 30. A heavy coil spring 43 is positioned in an opening 441 in the member 38 and in an opening 55 in the bed 30, and is compressed between a surface 46 of the member 38 and a surface 41 of the bed 30 so that it urges the member 38 upwardly. An upper blank holding member 48 is attached to the ram 35 by bolt 49. The blank holding member 48 is provided with drilled openings 50 which clear the heads of the bolts 49 and end in shoulders 51 so that the upper blank holding member 48 is vertically slidable with respect to the ram 35 between the position shown in Fig. 6 and a position where its upper surface 52 bears upon the ram 35. A heavy coil spring 53 is positioned in an openin 54 in the member 38 and in an opening 55 in the ram 35, and is compressed between a surface 56 of the member 48 and a surface 57 of the ram 35 so that it urges the .member 48 downwardly. The blank holding members 38 and 40 have mating surfaces 58 and 59 inclined at an angle of about 20 degrees relative to the plane of the surface of the female die 3!. They are provided with registering openings 63 and 6| (see Fig. 13) shaped to receive portions of the stock 20 and of the collar 22. The blank holding members 38 and 48 are backed against lateral movement by a stationary block 48' fixed to the bed of the press so that the lower blank holder moves between it and the body of the female die 3!.

To carry out the simultaneous bending and 4 coining method of the invention in the press of Figs. 6 through 13 the ram 35 is raised slightly above the position shown in Fig. 6 to separate the member 38 and 48, and the length of bar stock, upset as described above to provide the tapered terminal portion 21 and the integral collar 22 is positioned against the stop 32, with the tapered portion 2| resting in a groove 62 of the female die 3|, and a part of the stock 20 and a minor portion of the collar 22 resting in the opening 6|. The groove 62 is elongated generally in the direction of the stock. The rain 35 is then lowered slightly to the position shown in Fig. 6 so that the surface of the member 48 surrounding the opening 6| bears upon and, together with the surface of the member 38 surrounding the opening 60, resiliently and slidably supports the stock 20 and a minor portion of the collar 22.

When the blank has been properly positioned in the dies the press is then operated and ram 35 moves down carrying the male die 31 ultimately into registry with the female die 3! as shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. During the course of its stroke a corner 64 first contacts the stock blank at the collar 22 in the position shown in Fig. 8. The stock is supported by the blank holders and by contact between the extremity of the stock and the female die but is unsupported laterally. Continued downward movement of the press plunger bends the stock as indicated in Fig. 9 with the stock being still unsupported between its outer extremity and the collar 22 where the stock is gripped between the blank holdin members 35 and 58. The bending progresses until the stock reaches the ultimate angle as indicated in Fig. 10 and continued lowering movement of the ram coins a groove in the round blank face as shown in Fig. 11. During the coining step the metal flows upwardly around the nose of the male die and to the left against stop 32. The coining operation causes metal to be displaced not only into the semi-cylindrical extension to the left of collar 22 but somewhat into the exterior of the bend to be gathered at this point for a subsequent final bending as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. After the completion of the coining operation the press is again raised and the completed part removed.

The bent and coined stock of Fig. 14 is readily converted to a finished brake handle simply by rigidly supporting a part of the stock 20 adjacent the shaped portion and urging the terminal part of the shaped portion in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 15, in any suitable press, not illustrated. The final shape is shown in Fig. 15. An integral brake handle and shaft results when the unshaped stock 23 is cut to the desired length, and provided with suitable ratchet teeth in a known manner.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific construction, .arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable of numerous modifications Without departing from the spirit of the claims.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. A method of forming an integral brake handle and shaft or the like that comprises upsetting a length of steel bar stock to provide a tapered terminal portion and an integral collar of appreciably larger diameter than the stock; resiliently and slidably supporting the stock and a minor portion of the collar so that the tapered terminal portion contacts and registers with a generally symmetrical female bending and coinmg die elongated generally in the direction of the stock, and which describes an angle of from 15 to 25 degrees with the surface thereof; urging a registering male bending and coining die toward'the female die, into contact first with the integral collar, approximately on a plane of symmetry, and finally into registry with the female die; and finally completing a bend approximating 90 degrees around an axis generally through the lower end of the integral collar of the upset stock to complete the brake handle.

2. A method of shaping a length of steel bar stock upset to provide a tapered terminal portion and an integral collar of appreciably larger diameter than the stock that comprises resiliently and slidably supporting the stock and a minor portion of the collar so that the tapered terminal portion contacts and registers with a generally symmetrical female bending and coining die elongated generally in the direction of the stock, and which describes an angle of from 15 to 25 degrees with the surface thereof; and urging a registering male bending and coining die toward the female die, into contact first with the lower extremity of the integral collar, approximately on a plane of symmetry, and into registry with the female die, whereby the upset stock is first bent around an axis generally through the lower extremity of the integral collar and subsequently coined in the same operation.

3. A method of shaping a length of steel bar stock upset to provide a tapered terminal portion and an integral collar of appreciably larger diameter than the stock that comprises resiliently and slidably supporting one end of the stock and a minor portion of the collar so that the tapered terminal portion contacts and registers with a generally symmetrical female bending and coining die elongated generally in the direction of the stock, and which describes an angle of from 15 to 25 degrees with the surface thereof, the stock being unsupported laterally and urging a registering male bending and coining die toward the female die, into contact first with a portion ROBERT C. ZEILER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Brauchler Dec. 18, 1951 Number 

